The Han-Xiongnu War | Scott Forbes Crawford | Pen and Sword Military

The author had chosen the Mandarin pronunciation for the two groups of people who were at war with each other centuries ago.  Which on initial thought is a little strange, because if one were to be able to time-travel to those times then, I highly suspect that these people might not even recognize the pronunciation by which they were called by centuries later.

I had rather high hopes for this book, hoping to learn a little more about this mysterious group of people who had once upon a time given the Han people quite a lot of grief and then seemingly faded away into history.

Did they had some form of written language which could have been passed down?  Because practically all that is postulated (or known of them) came from Han sources.  Even the name by which they are now known as 'Xiongnu' was what the Han called them, and perhaps that might not even be what they call themselves in their language(s).

I suppose unless some archaeological breakthrough comes about, all that we know about the 'Xiongnu' are only from Han sources.

[Ultraman Suit] Jack Action Unboxing

[LEGO] Botanicals Chrysanthemum 10368 Unboxing

 

The Rivalry Peril | Van Jackson and Michael Brenes | Yale University Press

Ich frage mich, ob der Rest der Welt (abgesehen von den beiden im Buchtitel genannten Ländern) inzwischen stillschweigend zu der Auffassung gelangt ist, dass es womöglich dringendere, wichtigere oder entscheidendere Probleme gibt, die sie oder ihre Länder betreffen, als den in diesem Buch beschriebenen „Wettbewerb der Großmächte“.

Wie dem auch sei: Ich hoffe im Sinne der Autoren, dass ihre Einschätzung zutrifft, wonach China nicht die Welt beherrschen will – so wie es ihrer Ansicht nach Amerika tut. Denn das Gegenteil davon könnte für manche Länder nur schwer zu ertragen sein.

Ich frage mich durchaus, wie die Autoren zu dieser Einschätzung gelangt sind. Sie schien im Buch nicht näher erläutert worden zu sein, sondern wirkte schlicht wie die Feststellung einer Tatsache.

Secret Cat Forest - Living Room

UNESCO World Heritage Ohrid Old Town

 

Dracula | Bran Stoker

I had always thought that I heard of Dracula through classmates who were trying to frighten the rest of us about scary creatures, and had never read the story before.

After visiting Bran Castle, which has been incorrectly attributed as Dracula's Castle, I thought it appropriate to read the book and decide for myself if indeed Bran Castle appears to have been that castle that Count Dracula occupied.

So, with my photo of Bran Castle with the atmospheric light-up, I settled down to read.

To my utmost surprise, the opening chapter of Jonathan Harker's Journal was completely familiar to me, so much so that I could predict rather accurately what was going to happen.  It would appear that once upon a time, I had read Dracula, albeit only the first chapter.  Why I had not proceeded with the rest of the book, I have no recollection.  

Still, for a story written more than a century ago in a rather different era, Dracula certainly still feels quite sensational, and definitely scary.  

And I must say that just by looking at the exterior of Bran Castle at nightfall, without the little touristy village of shops beneath it, Bran Castle does resemble the castle of Count Dracula described in the story.  And I remain quite in awe still of Bran Castle. 

Dracula remains very much in circulation, going by the different book covers put out by different publishers today.

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